Harold McKee
South Down · Ulster Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“Will the Minister agree that the tourism potential of Northern Ireland's centenary in 2021 will be easier to realise if we have a proper cross-community Government that will work for the common good of all the people of Northern Ireland? Does he realise that that is not possible under a DUP/Sinn Féin Executive Office?”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answer thus far. We have hardly had a chance to get holes in the roads since the last election. The reason I ask the question is that I wrote to you in your first week in office about two roads — Carrigenagh Road and Mill Road in Kilkeel — that were in a very bad state of repair. Are they on target?”
“The review also states that Education and Training Inspectorate assessments over the last five years have ranged from satisfactory to outstanding, and that outdoor education brings added value to both the formal and non-formal education spheres.”
“The review document states that there is "a cluster" of OECs at the southern coast. Where else would you locate them when you have a natural environment with the Mourne mountains in an area of outstanding natural beauty and the loughs of Carlingford and Strangford?”
“As one who resides in a rural community in South Down, I very often take for granted the beauty of the countryside, the Mourne mountains and the coastal waters of Carlingford and Strangford loughs.”
“<BR /> <BR />When I read the findings of this review, I cannot see any justification for the rationalisation of larger statutory centres. In fact, I can only see reasons to preserve, support and promote the services, as I am sure many young people in Northern Ireland do not have the opportunity to visit one of these centres with school or…”
The complete record
Every one of 59 lines we hold for Harold McKee, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 1 of 2.
“Will the Minister agree that the tourism potential of Northern Ireland's centenary in 2021 will be easier to realise if we have a proper cross-community Government that will work for the common good of all the people of Northern Ireland? Does he realise that that is not possible under a DUP/Sinn Féin Executive Office?”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answer thus far. We have hardly had a chance to get holes in the roads since the last election. The reason I ask the question is that I wrote to you in your first week in office about two roads — Carrigenagh Road and Mill Road in Kilkeel — that were in a very bad state of repair. Are they on target? Have they yet to be done?”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Does the social strategy contain robust targets to tackle poverty? What resources will be available to achieve them?”
“Minister, this has been a particular problem in the Mournes, with red kites being targeted. Can you provide an update on how many birds have been killed over recent years?”
“<BR /> <BR />I call on the Education Minister to reverse his proposal and allow schoolchildren and community groups to continue in their outdoor activities at Ardnabannon, Delamont and Killowen outdoor education centres.”
“The review document states that there is "a cluster" of OECs at the southern coast. Where else would you locate them when you have a natural environment with the Mourne mountains in an area of outstanding natural beauty and the loughs of Carlingford and Strangford? Ardnabannon, Delamont and Killowen are seen as an invaluable front-line service by geography and science teachers in helping them to cover the requirements of GCSE and A-level specifications. They are also used by students studying a range of vocational courses, and many go on to gain their Duke of Edinburgh's award. If the proposed closures go ahead, with the loss of 191 beds in residential outdoor education centres, there is no way that the voluntary sector will be able to address the shortfall.”
“I quote from a review paper written in 2000 by Edward Lappin:”
“The review also states that Education and Training Inspectorate assessments over the last five years have ranged from satisfactory to outstanding, and that outdoor education brings added value to both the formal and non-formal education spheres. There is not even a mention in the report of the savings to be made, but with a total budget of 0·15% of the Department's budget, I believe the advantages of outdoor education centres far outweigh the costs. <BR /> <BR />If the centres close, there is a greater cost to the young participants who have availed themselves of them for education on the environment, conservation, adventure and outdoor recreation including climbing, orienteering, abseiling, sailing, canoeing, mountain biking and rock climbing etc. Most importantly, the physical exercise contributes to the child's health and well-being.”
“<BR /> <BR />When I read the findings of this review, I cannot see any justification for the rationalisation of larger statutory centres. In fact, I can only see reasons to preserve, support and promote the services, as I am sure many young people in Northern Ireland do not have the opportunity to visit one of these centres with school or through a youth group. Indeed, as the report shows, there is capacity in both the statutory and voluntary sectors for more young people to experience and benefit from the services of outdoor centres. <BR /> <BR />In the majority of performance statistics, statutory centres rate as equal or higher than the voluntary sector. The report states:”
“As one who resides in a rural community in South Down, I very often take for granted the beauty of the countryside, the Mourne mountains and the coastal waters of Carlingford and Strangford loughs. With this in mind, I am really concerned for the many young people who enjoy going to the outdoor education centres of Ardnabannon, Delamont and Killowen. <BR /> <BR />The proposal to close down three centres in South Down which cater for young people across Northern Ireland should be justified by reports showing systemic failures to deliver objectives and perhaps health and safety issues and so on. We have seen no such findings in this report, and I seriously question and, indeed, oppose the proposals being put forward by the Minister in this case.”
“Thank you, Minister. Does the Minister agree that good governance and transparency in all who hold positions of authority on boards is paramount to the trust that the people of Northern Ireland have in them?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. Will she provide an update on what she is doing to reverse the recent ruling that has barred boats from Northern Ireland from fishing inside the six-mile limit of the Republic of Ireland? Surprisingly, it was not a topic at the sectoral meeting.”
“The advances in our outputs, the continuing penetration into new export markets and the sheer level of innovation mean that the industry, at a high level, is almost unrecognisable compared with only a decade or two ago. For many farmers who continue to work the land, the industry remains uncertain. Price volatility over recent years has demonstrated starkly just how unpredictable making a living from it can be; indeed, over recent times, the only certainty that some farmers had was that, come December, they would receive their single farm payment. There now exists a policy vacuum that needs to be addressed quickly. I ask the Minister to listen carefully to the concerns raised in today's debate.”
“For instance, the Executive have already spent well in excess of £60 million on small business rates relief, and our universities receive hundreds of millions of pounds in public funding. I am not arguing against that, but it is important to remember it to dispel the notion that farmers are in some unique and privileged position. The reality is that most developed countries, whether they are in the EU or not, provide some form of public funding for farming communities, and I fully expect that to continue to be the case in Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />A key priority for the UK Government should now be to support and maintain a strong farming industry at home.”
“The comments of George Freeman, the MP in charge of the Prime Minister's policy board, were concerning, and I hope that they were not a reflection of where the Conservative Party is heading on the issue. He is most likely not the only Member of Parliament who would like to see funding for our farmers being diverted elsewhere, as previous Labour Governments were also in favour of reducing key agricultural subsidies. <BR /> <BR />There are some people who think that Brexit is an opportunity to end agricultural subsidies. They make all sorts of claims ABOUT how other models work best and ask why one sector should be given support over another. However, the same people often overlook the vast sums of money that could be considered subsidies that are granted to other sectors.”
“Whilst I very much welcome the subsequent commitment from Philip Hammond that the Treasury will make up the shortfall in EU funding to farmers, it is nothing more than a stopgap. Last year, the UK received around £3 billion of support, and, of that, almost 10% came to Northern Ireland. Therein lies the danger, however, because if Northern Ireland were to receive only a proportion of future funding through the Barnett formula, we would be looking at receiving only approximately one third of what we receive at present.”
“It is therefore unfortunate that some people are unfairly trying to tag them to the phrase "Regrexit" and that individuals, such as the privileged Earl of Sandwich, are taking it upon themselves to make sweeping statements about farmers having voted without understanding the consequences. Farmers knew exactly the gravity of what they were being asked to vote for, and those who voted "Leave" should not be dismissed so arrogantly, as they probably had more dealings with Europe over the past 40 years than most other groups of people here. <BR /> <BR />Nevertheless, few sectors of the local economy face being affected as much as our local agri-food industry. It is therefore disappointing that not even the most basic preparations were put in place before the referendum by the Minister, her Department or DEFRA.”
“I welcome the opportunity to take part in today's debate. No matter what way we voted in the referendum, we all have an obligation to work quickly and effectively to ensure that our farmers are supported after the UK leaves the European Union. It would be easy to assume that most farmers voted "Remain", given the fact that up to 87% of Northern Ireland's total farming income comes from the single farm payment, but that is not necessarily the case. In fact, during the referendum, I spoke to countless farmers in south Down who were so frustrated with what they considered to be unwarranted and excessive regulation that they were voting "Leave", even though they knew that there was nothing decided on what a future support model for agriculture would look like. <BR /> <BR />Many farmers voted to leave for many different reasons.”
“With many of our rural areas having residents unable to receive broadband, those people must make their way to a social security office and will have no other means to do that but by hiring a taxi to go a greater distance. That will, in turn, take a fair chunk out of their payments. <BR /> <BR />It is disappointing that, at the end of the consultation period, the Minister has said, even today, that he is minded to close the three offices. I urge him to give this essential service, which is dear to many, a fair hearing and to listen to the concerns.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I concur with the frustration of all those who use the Cookstown social security office and the staff who will most likely have to travel to other offices to seek work. We have a similar issue in Newcastle and Ballynahinch, where there is a recommendation to close the social security offices and jobs and benefits offices. <BR /> <BR />This is much bigger than a cost-cutting exercise; it will have a knock-on effect on the economies of Cookstown, Ballynahinch and Newcastle. Most importantly, the process of encouraging claimants to go online will give no reason for older or younger people to leave their home. That can often lead to those who look forward to a reason to go into their town or village to have a face-to-face conversation, shop or socialise becoming less able, housebound or even depressed.”
“Given all the changes to social security that are being brought in at the moment and the extra resources that have been put into advice services, does the Minister recognise that closing jobs and benefits offices in major towns across the country makes no sense?”
“Thank you Minister for your answer thus far. Last week saw the death of a prisoner and the Prisoner Ombudsman's report on the death of another last year. Will the Minister outline what she is doing to address this failure to keep prisoners safe in custody?”
“Does the Minister accept that eradication of TB and not just reduction must be the Executive's goal? Will the Minister commit to making that a target in the next Programme for Government?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer thus far. Does the Minister agree with me that until people in public bodies, such as NI Water, begin to be held to account for these incidents of pollution, the current penalties will continue to prove ineffective?”
“Is the Minister aware that many adopters in Northern Ireland view themselves as third-class citizens when they see the greater support for those who adopt in other regions of the UK? Will she give a commitment that any new adoption legislation will rectify that, so that adoptive families here will receive the support they deserve and require?”
“Why did the deputy First Minister indicate he had sight of the paper, when the First Minister claimed to have only become aware of the paper when the freedom of information request was received by the Department?”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answer thus far. According to the DUP manifesto, the party is committed to ending the article 71 exemption for teaching in the Fair Employment and Treatment Order. What plan does the Minister have put this into action?”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answers thus far. Will you advise what moneys from the fund have been allocated to bands in South Down?”
“It is unfortunate that a major high street pharmacy is offering free flights and accommodation to entice pharmacists, specifically to relocate from Northern Ireland to England. Can the Minister give a commitment that, under the current regulations, approval for such relocations is granted only when it is determined that such a move would not disproportionately affect existing patient groups using the pharmacy?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. She explained that the Loughs Agency had undertaken a scoping exercise to consider the impact of Brexit. Will she provide further detail on what was established by that exercise?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. Can she detail whether the announcement of a nationwide ban on burning smoky coal in the Republic of Ireland, and the desire of some officials and organisations to extend this to Northern Ireland, was discussed? If so, I hope that she did not overlook the likely impact that such a ban would have on the numbers of rural households in fuel poverty in Northern Ireland.”
“Thank you, Minister, for your answers thus far. The problem has been exacerbated by further bad weather over the last fortnight. In addition to a likely shortage of second-cut fodder becoming a serious problem, there is the increasing pressure of slurry tanks not being emptied. Will the Minister now agree to extend the slurry-spreading period to allow farmers to have their tanks emptied in an environmentally safe way?”
“Will the Minister consider allowing pedestrian access across that or any other piece of land under the control of his Department to encourage footfall from out-of-town shopping to the high street?”
“The Minister will probably be aware that frustration has been building amongst the farming community because of what it sees as typically excessive delays in bringing forward the scheme. Instead of having farmers rely on rumour and speculation, will the Minister publish without delay the list of eligible items for both tranches of the scheme?”
“Whilst there was a well-known case relating to the north coast in the courts recently, that was because there was no permission for the tyres and not because they were harmful to the sea or land around them. I call on the Minister to task her officials to explore this. <BR /> <BR />Finally, farmers have found waste tyres to be an effective alternative to silage clamps on manure. Is it not about time that the Minister considered abolishing the current fee of £842 for a three-year paragraph 16 exemption? It is 13 years since the Waste Management Licensing Regulations came into effect, so it is about time that the Minister looked at this issue with some rationality.”
“A problem, however, is that retreading and re-grooving can be applied to commercial vehicles only. <BR /> <BR />Burning tyres under very controlled circumstances to generate heat is a fairly new idea, with businesses such as that one in Cookstown using progress in technology to do so, and always with an eye on the environmental implications. Recycling old tyres into materials such as crumb rubber looks set to remain the common solution for several years to come. That does, however, produce some residue, which the motion correctly mentions and which, unfortunately, still finds its way to landfill. <BR /> <BR />One proposal I would like to make to the Minister is this: do not dismiss outright the idea of using old tyres as sea defences. This is an idea with a growing body of support across the UK.”
“I ask the Minister for an update on the fly-tipping protocol between councils and the NIEA, including which councils have yet to sign up to it. <BR /> <BR />There remains a major problem with the traceability of tyres coming into Northern Ireland. Has the Department not adopted a system of accurately quantifying the tyres coming into Northern Ireland? I believe that this was a recommendation in a Committee inquiry a number of years ago. <BR /> <BR />The problem of what to do with used tyres remains. The best environmental solution would probably be to retread or re-groove them, but I understand that the cost of doing so rules this out as a practical solution for everybody. I met a tyre company and was informed that it takes 22 litres of fuel to retread a tyre but 86 litres to manufacture a new one.”
“Naturally, it costs money to recycle a tyre, and some people have decided that it is not worth abiding by the law. A small minority of people and businesses have decided to blatantly flout the agreements that are in place. Many of them think that it is acceptable to simply dump tyres. Unfortunately, however, it is most often landowners in rural areas who are left to literally pick up the mess after them. It is not unusual to drive around rural roads in a constituency, such as my own of South Down, and see locations where van- or trailer-loads of waste have simply been dumped. Fly-tipping remains a major problem here, with not just tyres but all sorts of other waste finding its way over hedges and lying scattered across fields of grass or crops. This also presents a real threat to livestock.”
“Used tyres are an inevitable by-product of our increasing reliance on motor vehicles. The problem of what we do with them once they have reached the end of their roadworthiness is not new. Ten years ago, under the landfill directive, it was rightly decided that it was no longer tolerable to bury these items. Unfortunately, whilst we can all agree on that, getting complete agreement and buy-in on what to with used tyres has been much more difficult.”
“Thanks for that so far, Minister. What can the Minister say and do to assure the Northern Ireland fishing industry that it has a bright future? Do he and the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs have a plan to make sure that the needs of local fishermen are heard at the highest levels in the negotiations around Brexit?”
“I had my hand up for an intervention. Is that OK?”
“I just have to agree with what everybody has said —”
“I would also like to congratulate the Minister on her new post, and, as spokesperson for the Ulster Unionist Party, I hope to work with her in the near future. Will she detail when the next stage of the farm business improvement scheme will be announced, and will she give a commitment that her announcement will include a detailed list of eligible items?”
“<BR /> <BR />In addition to a register, however, other key steps are needed. The scourge of puppy farming and the accompanying upsurge in the online sale of pets presents authorities with major challenges. It remains effectively unregulated, and some people are making an awful lot of money from animal suffering. I hope that the new Department is actively considering ways to tighten the sale of pets in that way. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I make the point that animals involved in the provision of entertainment must be treated with the same care and compassion as we expect for our pets. I fully support the motion.”
“For the time being, we believe that the PPS is the best safeguard to ensure that people convicted of this awful crime face the full consequences. <BR /> <BR />I am happy to support the motion's call for a central register; in fact, it was one of the key policy priorities in the animal welfare paper that we produced earlier this year. There is a strong case for improving the information currently collated and stored about those found guilty of inflicting suffering on animals. It is essential that our enforcement bodies, including the PSNI and local councils, are able to quickly access and share conviction data among themselves and the wider public. In addition, collecting conviction data could assist local animal welfare charities to make decisions more confidently about who is a suitable owner.”
“That is a very good point. That was probably the clearest example in recent times of how we have still not got the balance right and how the punishments are not fitting the crimes. I therefore very much welcome the Public Prosecution Service's new power to refer unduly lenient animal cruelty sentences to the Court of Appeal.”
“The best way in which to deter people from committing animal cruelty is to convince them that the risk of being caught is so great and the subsequent sentence so strong that it simply is not worth it. Unfortunately, however, although the 2011 Act gave us the powers, it was not followed by punishments. In 2010, the year before the new Act, there were just four custodial sentences, but, by 2013, this had fallen to a measly two. What a mockery of the law? When, following an infamous case in east Belfast, the four men who had been convicted of one of the worst ever cases of animal cruelty here were seen joking, laughing and taunting the police as they walked free from court, that was probably the clearest example in recent times of how we have still not got the balance right and how the punishments are not fitting the crimes.”
“<BR /> <BR />Animal welfare is an issue that has already been receiving a higher profile in recent times. As a country of supposed animal lovers, our local papers and news bulletins include mentions of animal abuses all too often. Although there are well-known cases, such as that of Cody the dog, there are many more that simply go unreported. Some people are caught and punished, but many others get away with it completely. Not only have too many people been getting away with it but those who are caught have been getting away too lightly. <BR /> <BR />The 2011 Act was a major step in the right direction, but its implementation was pretty poor.”
“This is a very important debate. Everyone in the Chamber will be appalled at the thought of animals being neglected or harmed. Indeed, coming from a farming background, I know that my duty was not only to raise animals but to do so within certain standards to ensure that they all had a reasonable quality of life. In fact, Northern Ireland's farmers produce food to animal welfare standards that are among the highest in the world. The vast majority of local farms here are responsibly run, recognising the huge importance of good animal welfare and husbandry. Unfortunately, however, there are people in society who think that it is acceptable to inflict suffering on what are, most often, totally harmless animals, whether pets, wildlife or agricultural.”
“Finally, many farmers will be infuriated to learn that, whilst DARD continued to put obstacles in the way, it has allowed its own administration costs to spiral. The total cost of administration was £45 million last year compared with £5 million less than five years ago. Whilst there is a broad consensus that the agriculture and fishing industry here is still faced with too much red tape and was forced to jump through too many hoops with previous Ministers, I do not believe that there has ever been a genuine willingness to tackle it. So I call on the Minister to consider what steps she can take to reduce the administrative burden on our farmers.”